Overview
- CDU/CSU and SPD backed the measure, AfD voted against it, and Greens and Left abstained, with no Bundesrat approval required.
- Qualified nurses will take on tasks such as wound care, blood draws and diabetes monitoring, in some cases without a prior physician diagnosis based on a nursing assessment.
- Insurers, physician associations and nursing organizations must now define service catalogs, contractual frameworks and uniform continuing education for expanded practice.
- The law streamlines documentation and applications, bolsters home care and communal care housing, extends children’s sick‑day provisions to 2026 and adds a €2 billion relief package for statutory insurers in 2026.
- The reform responds to rising demand and staffing gaps, with 5.6–5.8 million people already needing care and a projected need for 150,000 additional nurses by 2040, while reactions range from nursing‑council support to AOK concerns over nonstandardized nursing diagnoses.